Department for Transport

Southeastern: Standards

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Southeastern train operating company meets its Public Performance Measure targets.

Claire Perry: I chair a monthly meeting with Network Rail, train operators in the South East, Transport Focus, and my department’s officials. This group monitors performance and passenger experience and it is absolutely committed to identifying improvements and ensuring rail passengers see the benefits of these improvements being delivered. I have made clear that Network Rail and Southeastern both need to get better when it comes to fixing faults and communicating with their passengers.

Thameslink Railway Line: Rolling Stock

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33921, on Thameslink railway line: rolling stock, what measures have been put in place relating to evacuation safety risk; and whether his Department has received any other representations on safety relating to Class 700 trains.

Claire Perry: Comprehensive emergency plans are in place between Govia Thameslink Railway, the Thameslink train operator, and Network Rail to ensure the safe evacuation from the tunnelled section of the Thameslink core route between St Pancras International and Blackfriars stations, should an evacuation of a train be required. These plans have been prepared in consultation with the Office of Road and Rail, the rail safety regulator, and the emergency services. My department has not received any other safety representations relating to the operation of the new Class 700 trains.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether train operators are required in selecting new rolling stock to make an assessment of the effect of such selection on UK industry and the wider UK economy.

Claire Perry: Procurement and evaluation of rolling stock is a matter for the private operators, as it has been since privatisation. However, I note that there are now two rolling stock assembly plants in the UK, operated by Bombardier and Hitachi, and the Government welcomes the jobs and economic benefits that these plants bring.

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's policy is on taking account of the benefits of contracts to the UK economy in determining future rolling stock orders.

Claire Perry: Procurement of rolling stock is usually carried out by the private operators through franchising. If the Department was to procure rolling stock it would take account of the latest competition and procurement guidelines relating to social and economic impacts.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Philippines: Hostage Taking

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Canadian counterpart on steps to secure the release of foreign hostages held by Muslim extremists in the Philippines.

Mr Hugo Swire: We maintain a close dialogue with our international partners on terrorism and kidnapping, both on a bilateral basis and through international fora. G7 leaders have recently reaffirmed their commitment not to pay ransoms to terrorists, to protect the lives of our nationals, including by reducing terrorist groups access to funding. We do not comment on individual cases.

China: Prisoners

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 29803, what representations his Department made to the government of China at the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue held in April on accusations of the harvesting of organs in that country.

Mr Hugo Swire: The UK-China Human Rights Dialogue is an important forum for us to raise the full range of our human rights concerns, including organ harvesting, with the Chinese authorities. We were not able to hold the Dialogue in April as initially scheduled, but we aim to hold it soon. In the meantime, we continue to discuss human rights issues with the Chinese, most recently when the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), met the President of the Chinese Supreme People’s Court, Zhou Qiang, on 9 June.

UN Secretariat: Public Appointments

Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has received representations to support the candidacy of Argentine Foreign Minister Susanna Malcorra for the position of UN Secretary General; what assessment he has made of the potential effect on UK sovereignty over the Falkland Islands of such an appointment; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: I have received notice that Argentina’s Foreign Minister, Susana Malcorra, is bidding for the role of UN Secretary-General. We want a strong Secretary-General, one with integrity, a proven track record, first class communication skills, suitable and relevant experience and unimpeachable character. They should be committed to transparency and accountability, have strong leadership skills, a bold vision for an activist UN at the heart of the rules-based system, and be committed to cost-effective management and reform. It is imperative that any Secretary-General serves the whole membership. We judge all candidates on their merits. The United Kingdom has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falklands and surrounding maritime areas, nor about the Falkland Islanders’ right to decide their own future.

Armed Conflict: Casualties

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role the Government is playing in UN discussions on improving mechanisms for casualty recording.

James Duddridge: The UK welcomes efforts to improve the UN’s recording of casualties as a means of ensuring UN decision making is better informed and civilians are better protected in conflict. We will continue to support the UN Secretary-General, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and all other relevant parts of the UN system as they take this work forward. We are a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a strong supporter of the Human Rights Up Front Initiative.

Department for Education

Schools: Defibrillators

Edward Argar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to increase the proportion of schools with access to a defibrillator.

Edward Argar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of schools in England have access to a defibrillator; and if she will make an assessment of how that proportion compares to the equivalent proportions in each other constituent part of the UK.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education is encouraging schools to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) as part of their first aid equipment. To help them do this, on 26 November 2014 we announced new arrangements to allow schools to purchase AEDs at a competitive price. This is the result of a unique agreement between the Department for Education and the Department of Health in which devices are bought in bulk and the savings of around 50% are passed on to schools. Since the launch of this policy, 1389 defibrillators have been provided to schools across the following regions:England – 1326Wales – 62Scotland – 0Northern Ireland – 1 These figures include 654 defibrillators purchased by schools since my answer to parliamentary question 13301 in October 2015. Taking into account all of the devices sold to schools through these arrangements, the estimated accumulative saving for schools is approximately £470,000. Schools do not have to purchase a defibrillator through the government scheme, and the Department does not collect information on how many schools have access to a defibrillator. To help schools in considering whether to purchase a defibrillator, the Department has published advice on installing and maintaining AEDs on school premises. This has been developed drawing on the expertise of NHS ambulance services and voluntary and community sector organisations.

Academies: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement on (a) academy chains and (b) the ability of US or European companies to establish academy chains in the UK.

Edward Timpson: The Government remains committed to academies and providing the best quality education for all children and young people. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will not change this. The Government of the day will always set the rules governing how the education system is run. We have protected public services, including education, in all of our trade agreements and will continue to do so in the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This is non-negotiable.

Pupils: Autism

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2016 to Question 38739, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of children who were receiving School Action or School Action Plus who subsequently would not be expected to meet the criteria for an Education, Health and Care plan.

Edward Timpson: Where a pupil is identified as having Special Educational Needs (SEN), schools should take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place. This system of ‘SEN Support’ has replaced the School Action and School Action Plus categories. We expect schools to make robust judgements about who should receive SEN Support; and that these judgements should be informed by an understanding of good practice. Different arrangements apply where a child has more complex SEN. Under the Children and Families Act 2014, the legal test of when a child requires an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan remains the same as that for a statement of SEN under the Education Act 1996. The EHC assessment and planning process allows for closer inter-agency working and greater involvement for the child and their family. This helps the local authority to identify and put in place the most effective provision for the child.

Academies

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department takes to vet directors of multi-academy trusts; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: Holding answer received on 15 June 2016



Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) are responsible for appointing trustees with the right skills to deliver their functions effectively. Our model articles require MATs to ensure that both trustees and those serving on any local governing bodies at individual academies within the MAT have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. MATs’ Articles of Association also set out the circumstances by which someone is disqualified from being a trustee, including conviction of a criminal offence or bankruptcy. A trustee can be removed by the board under the Companies Act 2006. Regional Schools Commissioners check that the trustees of a MAT have the necessary skills and expertise before the funding agreement of an academy or free school joining the MAT is signed. We may also conduct checks to make an assessment of a MAT trustee’s suitability, where deemed necessary. The Secretary of State can bar a person from taking part in the management of a MAT under the Education Act 2008.

Ministry of Justice

Unpaid Fines: Staffordshire

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fines of what total monetary value were written off by HM Courts Service in Staffordshire in each year since 2011-12.

Caroline Dinenage: Due to the limited management information that can be extracted from the Libra system it is not possible to identify how many financial impositions have been cancelled. The table below shows the total value of financial impositions cancelled in Staffordshire in each of the year since 2010-11.YearTotal Value Legally Cancelled regardless of Imposition dateTotal Value Admin Cancelled regardless of Imposition date2010-11£1,237,941£722,6032011-12£1,181,416£692,0662012-13£1,256,081£924,6302013-14£1,406,722£835,1132014-15£1,320,535£656,536Apr 2015 – Dec 2015£1,154,484£410,937 The data for January 2016 to March 2016 is not included as the data has not been published yet. A legal cancellation can be applied when an imposition has been cancelled in court by a Judge or Magistrate, for example if an appeal is successful or if some of the original amount imposed is remitted after the offenders financial circumstances have been reconsidered. Financial impositions are only administratively cancelled after all attempts to collect the amount outstanding have been made, and in accordance with a strict cancellation criteria. Any imposition which has been administratively cancelled still retains legal status and can be written back at any time if more information is found which will enable collection, for example if a new address for the offender is discovered. We periodically review administratively cancelled accounts.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how the wishes of victims of a crime perpetrated by a foreign national offender are taken into account when considering whether to deport that offender to a foreign prison.

Andrew Selous: It is the Government’s position that, wherever possible, prisoners should serve their sentences in their home countries, reducing the burden on the UK taxpayer. A number of factors are taken into account when deciding whether to remove foreign national offenders to serve the remainder of their sentence abroad, including the wishes of victims or their representatives. It is our normal practice to inform victims of the possibility of the transfer of an individual and to give them the opportunity to make their views known.

Prison Sentences: Wales

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many female offenders received an immediate sentence of (a) less than six months and (b) six months or more in each police force area in Wales in each of the last six years; and what the offence group was for such offenders.

Caroline Dinenage: Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent courts taking into account all the circumstances of each case. In order to pass a custodial sentence the court must be satisfied that the offence is so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community order can be justified. Where a custodial sentence is imposed it must be for the shortest period commensurate with the seriousness of the offence.The number of female offenders who received an immediate sentence of (a) less than six months and (b) six months or more in each police force area in Wales by offence group from 2010 and 2015 can be viewed in the table. This information is a further breakdown of the sentencing data tool, published at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015.



Female Offenders Sentences Wales 2010-15
(Excel SpreadSheet, 68.5 KB)

Ministry of Defence

Trident Missiles

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the budget is of the Mk4A upgrade programme.

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the goal is of the Mk4A upgrade programme.

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Mk4A upgrade is expected to increase the yield of the warhead.

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when work on the Mk4A upgrade programme began.

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Mk4A upgrade is planned to come into service.

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what forecast he has made of by how long the Mk4A upgrade programme will extend the operational life of the current warhead.

Mr Philip Dunne: The UK currently fields the Trident Mk4 warhead as part of the Trident Strategic Weapons System. In order to ensure continuity of the Mk4-based capability, the Mk4A Arming, Fuzing and Firing system is a non-nuclear component being introduced into the UK Trident warhead to replace a similar component. The Mk4A programme will not increase the destructive power of the warhead. Approval to procure the new Arming, Firing and Fuzing mechanisms, to manage obsolescence in Mk4 and to adopt a Mk4A component was given in January 2006. I am withholding further details of the date of the Mk4A component's entry into service, the cost of the Mk4A programme and the extension in operational life expected for the purposes of safeguarding national security.

Department for Work and Pensions

Television: Licensing

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons TV Licensing is not included in the Tell Us Once service.

Priti Patel: Consideration was given to include TV licencing in the Tell Us Once Service, however as the Department for Work and Pensions already provides this information to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, it is not necessary to also include it in the Tell Us Once Service.

Children: Maintenance

Joanna  Cherry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the affordability of the child support system for people who are self-employed.

Priti Patel: Even after parents have separated they continue to have financial responsibility for their children. We believe that the calculation for Child Maintenance is reasonable and proportionate, being based on the level of the non-resident parent’s income, regardless of whether they are employed or self-employed. The formula for the Child Maintenance Calculation is based primarily on the non-resident parent’s gross taxable income, where possible using information derived from HMRC. The level of the calculation is intended to be an approximation of what the non-resident parent would spend if the child lived with them.

New Enterprise Allowance: Stafford

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Stafford constituency are in receipt of the New Enterprise Allowance.

Priti Patel: The following table gives the number of mentor and business starts in Stafford for New Enterprise Allowance from April 2011 to December 2015. These figures are taken from the latest Official Statistics which can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/new-enterprise-allowance-apr-2011-to-dec-2015  New Enterprise Allowance: Mentor starts (1)  New Enterprise Allowance: Business starts (2)Stafford180100 Notes:1) Figures show the number of starts where people have begun working with a business mentor.2) Figures show the number of mentor starts that have progressed to set up their own business.3) Values are rounded to the nearest 10.4) Some claimants on Universal Credit (UC) are not captured in the data, there may be a small undercount of starts in areas where UC has been introduced.

Work Programme

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value was of the cash commission paid to companies for clients' completion of the Work Programme in each year from 2011 to 2016.

Priti Patel: Work Programme providers are not paid cash commissions and are not paid for individuals completing the programme. Providers are paid by results on the basis of a job outcome fee for supporting an individual into sustained employment and additional sustainment payments for keeping them in work longer.

Attendance Allowance: Parkinson's Disease

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with Parkinson's disease qualified for attendance allowance in each of the last 10 years.

Justin Tomlinson: Statistical information on Attendance Allowance claimants, including the numbers of people suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, is available from the DWP Tabulation Tool: http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/tabtool.html These data relate to the claimant’s main disabling condition at the time their claim is awarded. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions, but these cannot be identified from the data the department holds. Therefore there may be other claimants in receipt of AA who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease who are not captured in the above data.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Squirrels: Conservation

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assurances she has received from Natural England that the system of wildlife licences provides adequate protection for red squirrel species.

Rory Stewart: The red squirrel is one of the UK’s most threatened native mammals, predominantly due to the threat posed by non-native grey squirrels, which out-compete red squirrels and spread the squirrel pox virus which is deadly to reds. It is a priority for Natural England to prevent the release of any such non-native species that might have a negative impact on our native fauna and flora. Natural England’s policy, therefore, is to not issue licences to release grey squirrels in counties or areas where red squirrels are, or may be, still present. Outside of those areas, licences are currently only issued for the re-release (within 1km of their point of capture) of rehabilitated animals that were originally taken from the wild for tending or treatment, or for immediate release of individuals at the same location from physical entrapment. A list of species of Union concern, identified under the EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation 1143/2014, will be coming into force later this year and will impose restrictions on the keeping, breeding, sale, transporting and release of 37 listed plants and animals, including the grey squirrel. Once this happens there may be a need to consider changes to the way Natural England licenses the keeping and release of these species. As a consequence Natural England is limiting grey squirrel licences to one year only.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Social Rented Housing: Standards

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of (a) local authority and (b) housing association homes in each English local authority area have not met the decent homes standard in each year since 2001.

Brandon Lewis: Estimates at England level of the numbers and proportions of homes ‘not meeting the decent homes standard’ by tenure are available from the English Housing Survey, 2014/15 Headline Report, Housing Stock, Annex Table 2.2 at the following link https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2014-to-2015-headline-report Figures for years prior to 2006 are summarised in Live Table 119 at this link https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacantsSome information at local authority level is available from 2010 from various data returns from local authorities and private registered providers (housing associations) as follows:Local authority housing datahttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-housing-dataLocal Authority Business Plan Statistical Annexhttps://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/business-plan-statistical-appendix-bpsa-data-returns-for-2010-11Private Registered Providers:Homes and Community Agency (HCA), Statistical Data Returnhttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistical-data-return-statistical-releasesHCA Regulatory and Statistical Returnhttp://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120419011320/http:/www.tenantservicesauthority.org/server/show/nav.15039

Cabinet Office

Civil Servants: Training

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2016 to Question 39272, what proportion of the cohort of Civil Service Fast Streamers who joined in April 2013 have already undertaken a regional placement.

Matthew Hancock: The 2013 cohort for the Fast Stream joined over the course of 6 months between May and October with a final single joiner in December. At April 2016 there were 185 fast streamers on the first cohort of the Corporate Fast Stream Programme, 120 (65% of total) have completed a posting outside of London ‎to date. The Corporate Fast Stream programme lasts 4 years so full data for this cohort will not be available until the end of 2017 when all participants have completed the programme.The Fast Stream aspiration is to have 100% of corporately managed Fast Streamers experience at least one posting outside of London during the 4 year scheme.

Government Departments: Assets

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what revenue the Government has received from the sale of government-owned assets in the Newcastle upon Tyne local authority area between 2010 and 2016.

Matthew Hancock: Since 2010, the Government has generated £1.8 billion in capital receipts and vacated over 2,000 individual properties. This includes over £600,000 raised from the sale of Government owned property in Newcastle upon Tyne between 2010 and 2016. Disposals of surplus property is improving Government’s estate management and releasing surplus land and property in a way that delivers value for the taxpayer, boosts growth and creates new homes.

Government Departments: Assets

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to sell government-owned assets in the Newcastle upon Tyne local authority area.

Matthew Hancock: The Government is undertaking a programme to dispose of surplus Government owned land and property to improve the efficiency of the Government estate, deliver value for the taxpayer and support economic growth, in particular housing. The Government is committed to disposing of at least £5 billion of public sector land and property between 2015 and 2020 and freeing-up surplus Government owned land with capacity for at least 160,000 homes. This will involve selling surplus land and property across the country. In the Newcastle upon Tyne area for example, in the coming year, the Northumbria Probation Service Office at 6 Lansdown Terrace will be marketed for sale, and Network Rail are planning to release a former freight site at Heaton Down Yard for development. All Departments are working to accelerate the release of their surplus property and get it to market, so that it can deliver local benefits and value.

Department of Health

Blood: Contamination

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 3 May 2016 to Question 35936, on blood: contamination, when he plans to publish a formal response to the public consultation.

Jane Ellison: The consultation on the infected blood payment scheme closed on 15 April 2016. Officials are currently analysing the replies and a formal response will be published as soon as possible.

Medical Treatments

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to encourage NHS England and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to collaborate to ensure aseptic capacity is managed to a commonly high standard, is reimbursed at a sustainable level and supports further investment to meet growing demand in the NHS.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment NHS England has made of variation in aseptic services and the delivery of high quality infusional chemotherapy to cancer patients.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment NHS England has made of the capacity in the NHS to meet the demand for aseptic services.

Jane Ellison: NHS England Specialist Pharmacy Services have to date not undertaken a comprehensive assessment of aseptic capacity to meet the future demands for chemotherapy provision in England. They are currently working closely with colleagues at the Department and NHS Improvement to support a number of regionally based reviews of aseptic capacity and to help trusts develop local and regional Hospital Pharmacy Transformation plans, as recommended by Lord Carter in February 2016. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department and is responsible for regulating unlicensed medicines under a Manufacturer's 'Specials' Licence. The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and Care Quality Commission (CQC) are responsible for regulating medicine prepared extemporaneously in a register pharmacy or hospital pharmacy respectively under the professional exemption. MHRA will collaborate with the NHS, GPhC and CQC though inspections of MHRA licensed aseptic facilities or joint investigations of aseptic facilities in hospitals where there are patient safety concerns.

Parkinson's Disease

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing on the NHS laser-guided shoes to people with Parkinson's disease.

Jane Ellison: No assessment has been made of the potential merits of providing laser-guided shoes to people with Parkinson's disease (PD) on the National Health Service. We understand this new innovation, whilst promising, remains at a relatively early stage in terms of development and testing. Good quality evidence from clinical trials would be needed before clinicians and commissioners could make appropriate assessments about the clinical and cost effectiveness of the shoes and consider their suitability for patients with PD.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve uptake of cervical screening among all age groups.

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support Cervical Screening Awareness Week.

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has made an assessment of how the uptake rate for cervical screening in England compares to that in the rest of Europe.

Jane Ellison: NHS England closely monitors the coverage rates for cervical screening in all age groups. NHS England is committed to improving coverage and reducing variation between all age groups.Local NHS England commissioners analyse coverage rates within their area and work with general practices to improve coverage by sharing best practice. In addition a primary care cancer screening best practice guide has been developed jointly with the transforming cancer services team, clinical commissioning groups and local authority public health representatives.   NHS England is working in partnership with Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support on the ACE (Accelerate, Coordinate, Evaluate) Programme aiming to generate knowledge about effective approaches to achieve earlier diagnosis. A number of ACE test sites are evaluating approaches to increase screening rates in a range of groups.A range of research studies are also underway, such as Imperial College conducting a randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of texting non-responders on improving coverage. In addition, the Department’s Behavioural Insight team has undertaken a trial to investigate the use of behavioural insights to optimise the content of the invitation letter for cervical screening. Results are due shortly.The Independent Cancer Taskforce recognised the importance of screening for cervical cancer and the potential of the new human papillomavirus (HPV) test in their report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, published in July 2015. NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as National Cancer Director to lead the implementation of the strategy, and an implementation plan outlining the key first steps for the national cancer programme was published on 12 May. In addition, the routine HPV vaccination programme, offering immunisation to girls aged 12-14 years, is expected to reduce the already low rates of cervical cancer in these young women and allow them to be protected for years to come.Ministers welcome cervical cancer prevention week and we are fully supportive of the work Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust does to raise awareness of cervical cancer and the importance of cervical screening for eligible women.According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, Health at a Glance 2015: How does the United Kingdom compare?, the UK has cervical screening rates well above the OECD average. Further information is available at:https://www.oecd.org/unitedkingdom/Health-at-a-Glance-2015-Key-Findings-UK.pdfhttp://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/8115071ec053.pdf?expires=1465810879&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=102E30B1A256588EDD14918B5BE3AA4C

Contraception

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with (a) local education and training boards, (b) Public Health England and (c) Health Education England on the training of healthcare professionals to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception.

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who holds responsibility for (a) funding, (b) commissioning and (c) regulating the training of healthcare professionals to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception.

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department takes to ensure that healthcare professionals are trained to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception.

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to increase the number of healthcare professionals in (a) primary and (b) community care trained to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception.

Jane Ellison: No specific discussions have been held about the training of healthcare professionals to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception. The continuing professional development of doctors and nurses is the responsibility of individual employers. Health Education England has a role in ensuring employers remain committed to continuing professional development and in developing the overall strategy for workforce skills and development in their areas. Funding and commissioning of contraceptive services outside of the GP Contract is the responsibility of local authorities though the ring-fenced public health grant. Local authorities are mandated to ensure the provision of open access contraception services that enable reasonable access to a broad range of contraceptive substances and appliances (including intra-uterine methods) and advice on preventing unintended pregnancy. While not directly comparable because of changes in data collection, intra-uterine contraception fitted in sexual and reproductive health services increased from 65,300 in 2004/05 to 121,900 in 2014/15.